Jareth, The Handyman
by BewilderedFemale
Summary: Jareth, the handyman ends up in the small town of Rendville,KY. Where he fixes more than Sarah thought possible.  *Written for the Jareth-GK  aka J-cakes  Summer Challenge*


**HOLY #($*%! I must be out of my mind to be taking on yet another story on top of everything else I'm doing, but I gave J-cakes my word, and if anything; I never go back on my word. I really hope some southern charm will help persuade her J-cakes.******

**Sarah if you get to read this, give the guy a break already! Can't you see that he... hey! If after all is said and done you still want a mortal; there is this guy who works in my office, OMG! He is like the exact image of a young Fabio! Seriously! I would go after him myself except I have a "No fishing off the company pier" policy, but he'd be perfect for you! Just drop me a PM if you want me to hook it up. ;o)******

**I'd like to raise a jar of moon shine to my dear friend Condiotti who served as my beta for this story. She did such an amazing job that I've decided not to toss her in an active volcano after all!******

Rendville, Kentucky;

Population: 29... No seriously, it was voted as the smallest city in the US, and oddly enough everyone was related in some way, everyone except for Sarah.

She wore her hair in braids, her country dress and apron resembling something similar to what Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz, except that her boots were knee high. What with all the rain they were getting this time of year, it was muddy anywhere you went. It was a simple life, and she was happy living in the country. With the air sweet with the scent of honeysuckle and the glistening morning dew still hanging off all the plants, she was headed up the hill towards the water pump, buckets in hands, getting ready to do her daily chores.

As she got closer she realized that the Olson sisters**, t**he town's only single women over the age of 14,were congregated theregossiping wildly. When they saw her coming they squealed in excitement.

"Sarah! Sarah! You won't believe what we've just heard!"

"There be a new hunk in town!" Interrupted the other sister.

"He's twenty five years young, wears a blue jumpsuit,"

"and... HE'S SINGLE!" They squealed at the same time.

"Betty Sue May-Darlin! I thought you were engaged to marry Cleatis, our second cousin! What would he say if he heard you going on that way?" Interrupted the eldest sister. She herself was nearing thirty and was already written off as an old spinster. Her desire to prove the town wrong was a bit over the top at times, but Sarah couldn't blame her.

"We's ain't married yet**,**and anyway, I'm allowed to look aren't I? Ain**'**t nothin**'** wrong with that!"

Sarah couldn't really care less to be frank, but she figured she ought to humor them some what. "Oh? What's his name?" She asked as she began to pump the water, the murky brown quickly turning into a clean clear color.

"His name is Jay Earp! And he talks funny!"

"No it's not, It's Jay Nerd!"

"HE SAID! JAY EARP! What kind of name is Jay Nerd?" argued the older sister.

"It only sounded like he said that cause you tried to tackle him down! You being so desperate for a husband and all!"

"You take that back Betty Sue May-Darlin!"

"I will not! Sue Ellen Crocker-Darlin!"

"It was me he called his darling peach!"

"He says that to everyone! But it was me he said had lips as red as the rose blossoms that grow on the hills of Evavicasvere!"

"He did not!"

"DID TOO!"

And so the fight began, as it usually did whenever they argued about men. They ended up rolling in the mud and by the time they were done, the only thing that wasn't covered in filth were their eyes that looked huge and cartoon-like in contrast to their filthy brown bodies.

"Fine you win!" Panted the eldest, "but I'm gonna tell Cleatis about this!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Guess what Cleatis?" She mimicked, "Your fiance fancies the new sweet talkin**'**stranger in town, the one who's got one eye the color of bachelor buttons and the other the color of this mud I'm covered in!" That stopped her short as she thought about it.

"He does doesn't he? Do you think his parents are siblings like our parents are?"

"Could be, and having different color eyes sure beats the heck outta having six toes on each foot!" She wiggled her mud covered foot in front of her as if proving her point.

Sarah couldn't contain her laughter at watching them all that time going back and forth**.** Both of their heads shot up as they saw the tears rolling down her cheeks she was laughing so hard, and soon after they joined in on the laughter as well.

The moment however, ended as abruptly as it had started when they heard the crunch of dry leaves and twigs give way and soon the very man they had been talking about appeared before them.

"Oh hello, I wondered what that beautiful sound... What in tar-nation happened to you two?"

"We uhh.. umm.. errr.. we fell on this daggum mud is what happened while we were fetching this here water, come Betty Sue May-Darlin, we gotta bring these home to mama."

"But.. " Sarah began, watching as they were taking her buckets with them.

"Don't worry Sarah, we'll stop by later!"

And so they left. She had never seen them run so fast, spilling most if not all of the water that was in buckets. She gave a deep sigh as she was about to turn around and head back to her cottage without her much needed water but there in front of her stood the stranger, Jay Bird was it?

It was true, his eyes were two different colors, but right away she knew there was something different about him. He indeed was wearing a blue jumpsuit, and she momentarily wondered if he was a convict who had broke out of prison, but all that aside; She understood why these girls were tripping over themselves for his attention, but she certainly wasn't going to do the same. Before she could tell him to move out of the way; he spoke up.

"Those were your buckets weren't they?"

"Yes! And it's your fault that they made off with them!" With that, she side stepped around him and began making her way down the hill and back to her cottage. She was almost halfway to her house when he was in front of her again walking backwards**.**She didn't stop, she was hoping he would trip over one of the tree roots.

"Now, now, is that any way to welcome me into the neighborhood? Besides I only mention your buckets because I figured there has to be a reason you trek up here to get water, do you not have indoor plumbing?"

She stopped walking and stayed staring at him as if he were from another planet. Nobody had caught on to the fact that her plumbing had gone wrong for weeks and this stranger rolls in and notices it right away, he definitely couldn't be trusted!

"You!" She began, pointing her finger at him in a menacing manner. "Just stay outta my way, Jay Turd!"

She didn't stick around to see his reaction, she quickly side stepped him again and ran as fast as she could all the way to her cottage**;** her braids flying behind her as she entered the back way. She had thought about heading in another direction so that he wouldn't know where she lived, but it being such a small town, if he didn't know already; it was only a matter of asking around before he did know.

Later that evening she thought about their meeting, wondering what had come over her that made her react in the way that she did. She wasn't known for being rude to people, but there was just something about him that begged he be treated that way. She finally opted to just push the occurrence out of her mind. In all honesty, he made a good match for Sue Ellen, he could probably even free her of her spinster destiny. With that, she had made up her mind, refusing to give way to the thoughts of why he had in fact effected her as much as he did.

OoOoOoOoO

The next morning, the Olson sisters had stopped by to return Sarah her buckets, and she immediately set out up the hill to pump water to bring back to her cottage. She had just kicked the door shut behind her when she saw him, the stranger**,** on the floor and tinkering under her kitchen sink.

She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she angrily dropped her buckets, spilling some of the water on the floor. "Who the blazes said you could just come into my house and start messing around with my things?"

He instantly sat up on the floor, his face and hands streaked with black grease. "Made it back already did you? Well when I'm done, there will be no need for you to be carrying buckets anymore. Oh, and maybe you heard wrong before, but my name is Jareth, and not whatever it is you called me yesterday." He returned to his tinkering as Sarah began her rant:

"Your name could be Sam Hill for all I care! How dare you just come into my house uninvited! Have you no decency? That might be tolerated where you come from, but around here it..."

He shot up again and began wiping his hands with a rag that he pulled out of the front pocket of his jump suit. Upon closer inspection she realized why he wore it, he was a handyman. They all wore them, and then she saw his name patched on the left side of his chest. "No need to thank me, although if you insist on giving me payment, being my date to the Jeehaw haystack summer social will do it."

"I can't go with you to that! If Sue Ellen Crocker-Darlin see's me with you it'll break her heart! Why don't you go with her? Do the right thing and fix her of her loneliness and misery!"

He stayed staring at her for a long moment before finally answering:

"And who will fix you?"

She opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out, she had no answer. She was so worried about her friends that she didn't even think about her own situation.

He gave her a devilish smirk before heading towards the door. He turned the knob and was about to step out when he turned to her again and said:  
>"I'll pick you up at noon, I'm wearing red and brown if want to wear matching colors. We'll be a sight to behold during the square dance."<p>

He again made to leave but spun back around yet again. "Oh, and turn on the faucet, I'm sure you'll find it satisfactory."

This time, he did leave, but she opened the door and looked to make sure anyway. She could see him almost at the top of the hill already, and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in.

She walked over to the faucet and eyed it suspiciously before quickly turning on the tap and stepping back quickly to cover her face, and then she heard it. The sound of trickling water, she uncovered her eyes and she saw the fluid, clear water going down the sink, and no leaks.

OoOoOoOoO

Francine ..No, it was Franny, no that wasn't it either. Flimsey... Whatever her name was, stood at the very center of Jethro's barn house showcasing her square dance petticoat. It was a pale pink color and the ruffles were a blinding happy yellow color. Sarah almost wanted to see what kind of get up her partner had on, but Frenchy had seen her, and was walking over.

"Sarah! What marvelous colors you have on!" She exclaimed in an over eager voice, it was obvious she had been at the rum punch bowl a few times already.

"Thank you." Sarah replied half-heartedly. Her own dress was a cherry red, except that she had tied a brown ribbon around her waist, and her braids were also tied at the ends with the same ribbon. Why she went through such lengths to follow through with what Jay-t... Jareth wanted still escaped her.

Suddenly, they heard a great riot and when both Flinchy and Sarah turned around, there was Jareth jumping around, acting as if he was riding a horse. "Giddy up fellas! Old Jare's arrived in style!"

Sarah's eyes narrowed, he would make a scene upon arriving, and everyone was eating it up; patting him on the back and circling around him, even the married women!

Sarah gave an indignant huff and walked out of the barn house.  
>It was quiet aside from the laughing and giggling caused by Cleatis chasing after Betty Sue half naked with a riding crop, yelling something about riding his life size-crystal unicorn... These people were under the effects of some serious moon shine.<p>

Sarah hadn't been there for half an hour and already she wanted to go home**.**But not far from where she was standing, she spotted a nice trail littered with ferns and wild flowers. She immediately felt her feet guiding her towards that direction and what started as a brisk walking pace, turned into an all out run. 

As the branches passed her in a green blur, she felt free and void of all the emotions that were eating her up inside. She ran until the only thing she felt was the pain in her lungs and that's when she finally stopped to catch her breath. There was an old log lying on the ground, and she quickly made use of it as a seat.

Sarah began to plan out her strategy. She'd stay there for as long as possible, and then come back to the party when it was nearly finished. If Jareth reproached her about anything, she could just point out that she had been there but that he had obviously been busy entertaining the female population of Rendville.  
>She began to smile at the brilliance of her plan, absentmindedly pulling out the petals of a nearby flower.<p>

"So this is where you ran off to." Came a deep, smooth voice.

The shock of hearing someone so close had her almost falling off the log, but Jareth was there to cradle her in his arms.  
>Her chest was heaving as she was trying to catch her breath. She didn't even notice how close together they were as he held her in his arms, his eyes taking in her features hungrily.<br>Before she had time to register what had happened, or try to make any sense of it; Jareth had lowered his lips upon hers. She initially resisted, not believing the audacity of this stranger, but as the kiss intensified, she found herself relishing in the new found feelings.  
>She felt him open his mouth, and so she did the same, and when she felt the pressure of his tongue against hers; it sent waves of pleasure throughout her being. She couldn't suppress a moan as she felt his hand traveling up her ruffled skirt, the sensations sending her body aflame. He broke from the kiss momentarily to whisper in her ear:<p>

"Do you know what it does to me, to see you wearing my colors?"  
>His lips were gently grazing against her earlobe as his hand was traveling up even further now. "To see you in that fiery red color, and know that you did it for me?... Oh the things you do to me."<p>

She looked at him, here eyes dilated with a desire she had never known until this moment, and said boldly: "Why don't you show me?"

Oh and he wanted to, from the moment he saw her on the hill laughing at her mud-covered friends. But just as he was about to, out popped Cleatis and Betty Sue from the bushes, holding some mountain brew in a Herman's mayonnaise jar.

"Lookee here Betty Sue! Looks like there's gonna be a hitchin' real soon!"  
>Betty Sue giggled and almost stumbled on her own feet, which caused her to laugh even more. "We can have us a double-weddin!" Both of their eyes widened in realization and they took off just as quickly as they had arrived.<p>

Sarah and Jareth stayed staring at where they had been standing in disbelief and then slowly looked at each other again before giving way to laughter.

OoOoOoOoO

Pastor Du-wayne gave the Sermon and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. They had all the fixings including a live band made up of a fiddle, banjo, and bass, along with mountains of food. Sarah wondered where all the meat had come from but decided it was better to remain in ignorance.

The first square dance was to be had by the happy couples and their immediate families. The banjo player serving as the caller began a fast paced tune: "This is for our luv birds y'all, now bow to your partner, bow to your corner.. and swing your partner, do sa do, and promenade, promenade..."

A good time was had by all but more importantly; Jareth the handyman had truly fixed what Sarah had been lacking in her life.  
>But... Jareth wanted to make sure the job had been totally completed, and it wasn't long before the pitter patter of feet was heard through out the cottage. In total they had seventeen children who grew up healthy and without excess toes. <p>

**The End Y'all**


End file.
